Jeanne says: It has been weird this year to stylishly dress up in distressed denim. I have two other VERY distressed versions with patches and holes, but these were my first distressed pair. Once I get over the fact that they are distressed, it is fun to dress them up with dressier shoes, tops and jewelry. These Gap 1969 skinnies are very flattering — if you haven’t, you should try them!

Kate looks more traditionally dressed up in dark skinny jeans. Once again, she combines several different colors on the top and pops on an interesting pump and voila! Kate, of course, in general wears jeans far more often than I do. She finds lots of ways to wear them in her business casual office; I, on the other hand, have to wait for Friday or the weekend!

Kate says: I do indeed wear jeans at least once a week to work, but I usually stick with these darker wash jeans or my black jeans — they feel a little more professional. It also helps to wear a blouse (versus a t-shirt or something more casual) and heels! I love these bright colors together, and I think brights also help make an outfit look more dressy.

Mom goes the other route for dressing up her jeans: popped collar, tucked in shirt, and gold jewelry. This works because she went with one of her less distressed pairs of boyfriend jeans — so they have the looser fit and messy cuff, but aren’t quite so casual. Her combination of pink and red is very chic, of course!

Both glam treatments for good old jeans work spectacularly well. Much applause, and thanks for the inspiration. Jeanne, I’ve been wearing menswear styled shirts, button-downs, again for the first time in years… and have been loving a popped collar (with my fairly new, very short hair). You support my theory, that a popped collar always shows a little attitude. Thanks!